Legacy group owner to file petition for insolvency in court

MANILA, Philippines - Legacy group owner Celso de los Angeles announced yesterday that the group will be filing a petition for insolvency at the Makati Regional Trial Court next week to protect all investors and creditors of their “double-your-money” scheme.

The move, he said, will allow the scheme’s 14,000 investors to be equitably paid back by the company, adding that it will organize Legacy’s clients by avoiding individual and unnecessary court claims.

“Instead of clients fighting over the company’s assets, it would be better to surrender all of our assets to court. We have to file the necessary court proceedings no later than next week to protect all investors and individuals,” De los Angeles told reporters at the weekly media forum Kapihan sa Sulo in Quezon City.

During the forum, De los Angeles said they are now in the process of surrendering all the company’s assets to a Makati court to insure that the assets will go to intended beneficiaries who file the claim.

He declined to give the exact amount but said their petition for insolvency is the best option to insure that their clients get back their investment.

De los Angeles also clarified that a hold departure order against him is no longer necessary because as town mayor he has to secure clearance from the governor or Malacañang before going out of the province or going abroad.

“Local officials cannot just leave without permission,” he said.

Under the petition, Legacy group legal consultant Francisco Rivera said the court will be appointing a receiver who will handle all of the company’s assets and properties, and discuss among creditors the next course of action.

Rivera added that the court will schedule a hearing where clients can file their claims.

“The receiver and the creditors will work together on what to do with the assets. They’ll be the ones to decide, not the government,” he said.

But De los Angeles stressed that priority should be given to those who have invested in Legacy’s buy-back scheme, rather than the pre-need plan holders and its rural bank depositors.

Those who have deposits of P100,000 or less in Legacy’s rural banks are now scheduled for payback by the Philippine Deposit Insurance Corporation, while a trust fund has been set up for those who have availed of Legacy’s pre-need plans, which De los Angeles said is enough to pay back plan holders.

However, he said there is no safety net for those who have invested in the double-your-money scheme, thus the petition for insolvency.

Meanwhile, De los Angeles proposed that the Securities and Exchange Commission should allow pre-need firms to jointly operate a school in different regions in the country to make it easier for them to determine where they would send students who are plan holders. – Perseus Echeminada